Mining

See also: Caving

Mining is the removal of objects from caves. Supplies such as food and light source are typically needed for a mining trip.

Ore

Mining ore can be done by hand, but is much more efficiently done with a pickaxe (yielding three ores of that type instead of one). Mining speed is increased with each successive pickaxe upgrade (with the exception of the gold pickaxe which is slower than steel, but has other benefits).

Using gem pickaxes increases the yield. Like normal pickaxes, these benefits increase with progressively more expensive gem pickaxes (a diamond pickaxe yields six times the usual amount). The life of gem pickaxes can be extended by only using them for the final strike; a normal pickaxe can be used until the block is nearly mined, then a gem pickaxe for the multiplier.

Gems

Gems are found in caverns. There are five types of gems, diamond, ruby, emerald, sapphire and amethyst. They are picked up by hand, not mined using a pickaxe with the exception of the gold pickaxe which has a chance to randomly produce gems, ores, or time crystals with each strike. Since the gold pickaxe may produce bonus resources for each strike, using it only for the final strike (like with gem pickaxes) is only beneficial in prolonging its life, as it will not increase the yield.

Time Crystals

Mining with a pickaxe yields more time crystals. The yield multiplier for gem pickaxes applies to time crystals, so the best gem pickaxe available should be used to maximize yield.

Grid Mining / Strip Mining

Grid mining consists of mining sections of blocks in between pathways to form many blocks of unmined rock, with torches nearby to illuminate the contents of the blocks.

Strip mining has similar principles of grid mining, except the pathways are single directional to maximise area coverage with minimal stone deposits in inventory and time.

The two type of power mining are used to search for a particular type of ore quickly because it gives full vision of the area to look for specific ores. Most commonly used in search of gold, platinum, and titanium ores. Media:http://theblockheadswiki.com/wiki/File:BH_strip_mining_1.png